نسرین عطایی مهر

Objective: The increase in divorce rates has led to many studies on divorce prevention. The present study was conducted with the objective of comparing the effectiveness of emotionally focused couple therapy and self-regulation couple therapy in the ego strength of couples on the verge of divorce.   Methods:  The design of this quasi-experimental study was pretest-posttest with a control group and a three-month follow-up. The statistical population included all the couples on the verge of divorce in martyr Motahari family court complex in Mashhad in 2019. Sixty couples who referred to Bahar Divorce Counseling Center in Mashhad were selected. They were randomly assigned to two experimental groups (i.e., emotionally focused couple therapy and self-regulation couple therapy) and a control group. There were 20 couples in each group. The instrument included Ego Strength Questionnaire (Markstrom & Marshall, 2007). In addition, one-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc test were used to analyze the data using SPSS software (version 25). Results: Both intervention methods were effective in strenthing the ego of the couples on the verge of divorce (P<0.0001). Furthermore, the effectiveness of both methods sustained over time. Moreover, there was no significant difference between the two methods in terms of the effectiveness. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, it is suggested that counselors and psychologists in the field of couple and family therapy use the two methods of emotionally focused couple therapy and self-regulation couple therapy in order to strengthen the ego of the couples with challenges.